Method and means for cutting webs



Dec. M, 1935. A. M. ZUCKERMAN METHOD AND MEANS FOR CUTTING WEBS Filed April 20, 1932 R O T N E v m Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,023,501 METHOD AND MEANS FOR CUTTING WEBS permanent trustee Application April 20, 1932,Serial No. 606,386

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in web cutting and is particularly applicable to cutting or severing a running Web or webs of paper or other material as it passes from a printing or other machine to a folder, assembly means or otherwise as desired.

It is one of the objects of this invention to neatly sever a continuous and moving web, into a plurality of sheets of predetermined lengths, the cut edges of which are perpendicular to the side margins thereof or otherwise as desired.

In prior operations of this character it has been customary to propel the web at a desired speed and to cut it at intervals into sheets of substantially uniform lengths by a pair of rotating knives acting successively in timed relation therewith.

Such knives have been operated at peripheral speeds substantially equal to the speed of translation of the running web but it has been found, that in an operation so conducted, the cut edges of some of the sheets, frequently adhere to the knives, due to static electricity, or for other causes, with the result of deflecting such sheets from the proper path, and preventing their entrance into the guides which should conduct them further. Due also to the deflection of the web so caused, it is sometimes torn, crumpled or distorted, frequently causing chokes, with consequent damage to the machinery, all of which is undesirable.

It is one of the objects of this invention to positively and accurately cut a running web into sheets of desired lengths while obviating the difficulties previously mentioned, and this is accomplished by rotating the cutting knives at peripheral speeds slightly greater than the speed of translation of the web keeping them however, in timed relation therewith.

By arranging the operation and mechanism in this Way, the cutting knives, after severing the Web, move away from its ends by reason of the fact that their speed is greater than that of the web, and the latter is consequently not deflected nor crumpled so that it'is delivered accurately to the guides or other apparatus adapted to next and successively receive the cut sheets.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a method and means for cutting a running web into sheets, which are simple and efiicient, While the mechanism is durable and inexpensive and at the same time, it is convenient, practical and serviceable in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the method of operation and 5 the combination and arrangement of mechanism therefor, and the details thereof, all as herein described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the precise embodiments of the invention hereby disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

The preferred embodiment of the mechanism of the invention is'illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a machine embodying this invention looking at the ends of the cutting cylinders in the general direction of their axes;

Figure 2 is a detailed end view of the pair of cutting cylinders showing their knives or cutters in opposed positions when severing the web; and

Figure 3 is an end view of the pair of cutting cylinders showing the knives slightly advanced and in the positions occupied shortly after severing the web.

Referring now to the characters of reference on the drawing:-

The frame of the machine is indicated as H on which the cutting cylinders I2 and I6 are rotatably mounted in bearings as shown and are geared together to insure that the shear knives M and I3 carried thereby shall register as indicated in Figure 2.

One of the cutting cylinders is indicated as I2, secured on the rotatable shaft l3 and provided with the knife or cutter l4 mounted on its holder 55 and adjustably secured thereon by the tap bolts and adjusting screw as illustrated.

The companion cutting cylinder I6 is mounted on the rotatable shaft [1 and is geared to its mate 12 so that it rotates in harmony therewith to insure the registry of their respective knives or cutters l4 and I8. This cutting cylinder It has a similar knife l8 mounted on its holder 19 to which it is also adjustably secured as shown. The cylinders 12 and I6 are arranged or adjusted so that their adjacent peripheries do not operably engage the web with sufficient pressure to feed it, but only serve to additionally guide the web.

On the delivery side of the cutting cylinders I2 and I6 and adjacent thereto are the guides 20, adapted to receive the sheets W which have been cut from the running web W by the cooperative shearing effect of the rotating knives l4 and I8.

As shown at the upper left hand side of Figure 1, a compensating roller 2| is rotatably mounted on the rocker arms, one of which is shown and indicated as 22, which are capable of adjustable movement around the axis of the rock shaft 23 by the movement of the crank 24 which is provided with an operating rod 25 having means for adjusting and securing it in position, not shown.

After the running web W has passed over the roller 2|, it is gripped and propelled by the driven feed roller 26 and between itand the propeller disks 21. These propeller disks are preferably a plurality of short rollers rotatably mounted and capable of being forced against the web and toward the roller 26 by swinging the rocker arms 28 about their rock shaft 29 by the crank 30 which may be adjusted and secured in position by any customary means adapted to maintain the desired pressure.

The apparatus is driven from the main shaft 3| which may be rotated by any suitable source of power. This rotates the bevel gear. 32 which rotates the bevel gear 33 and the spur gear 34 mounted on the same shaft as the cylinder 35, which latter is geared to and rotates the cylinder 36. These cylinders 35and 36 may be forwarding cylinders, folding cylinders, collecting cylinders or any type desired to receive and dispose of the cut sheets in various manners dependent on the product desired.

The spur gear 34, drives an idler gear 31 which meshes with the gear 38 to drive the cutting cylinder l6, andthis cutting cylinder is geared to its companion cylinder l2, and these therefore rotate in harmony and to insure the registry of their respective cutting knives l8 and M. The gear 31 also meshes with the gear 39 which in turn meshes with the gear 40 which drives the feed rolls 26 through the gear mounted on their shaft.

Between the feed and propeller rollers 26 and 21 and the cutting cylinders l2 and I6, guides 4| are supported on the shafts 42 and are adapted to direct the web W into the bite of the cutting cylinders.

As indicated in Figure 1, another pair of nipping rollers is provided comprising the roller 43 driven by the gear 39 at greater peripheral speed than the feed roller 26 and its companion propeller rollers or disks 44 which are adapted to press against the sheets W and forcibly contact them with these rollers to insure. their forward movement. The rollers 44 are rotatably mounted near the ends of rocker arms 45 which are adapted to be swung by. the rock shaft 46 toward the roller 43-and secured in position by means not shown, but such as customary for this use. The rollers 43 and 44 projectbetween the guides 20 in order to contact with the cut sheets W and are adapted to forward them to the succeeding mechanism or to their destination.

In order to make a straight cut,-the' knives l4 and iii are arranged on their respective cutting cylinders in directions slightly inclined to the cylinder axes, or helically with respect to the surfaces of the cylinders. As these knives revolve they are adapted to meet in registry and thus shear the web, as indicated in Figure 2 of the drawing, in which the cut is about accomplished by the rotation of the cutting cylinders in the directions of the arrows.

In order to simplify the drawing, and for the sake of its clarity, the various gears and cylinders are indicated in Figure l by simple circles composed of full lines where directly visible and by broken lines where behind other features in this view, and their directions of rotation are indicated by the various arrows.

The sizes of the cutting cylinders and the gear ratios of the various drives is such that the peripheral speed of revolution of the knives I4 and I8 is slightly greater than the speed of the running web. The knives therefore depart quickly from the cut ends of the web and thus avoid defleeting, crumpling or distorting it. The effect of this is to insure that the leading end of the web is positively and neatly entered between the guide bars 20, thus obviating the difficulties disclosed herein.

This arrangement and the means whereby this is accomplished form valuable and important features of this invention.

As the mechanism of this invention is equally adapted to operate upon one web or a plurality of associated webs, it should be understood that the words web or webs may be used interchangeably herein.

What I claim is:

1. The method of cutting a printed web, which consists in propelling the web at a given speed and in predetermined registered relation, constantly revolving two cooperating and mutually registrable cutting edges at a speed slightly greater, than the speed of the propelled web and in register with the printed matter on the web to thereby sever the web into separate sheets bearing predetermined printed matter, guiding the sheets away from the cutting edges from a point immediately adjacent the cutting point of the cutting edges, and propelling the sheets away from the cutting edges at a speed greater than the speed of the propelled web.

2. In a. web cutting mechanism for a printing machine, means for feeding the printed web at a given speed, a compensating member in advance of the feeding means to supply the printed web to the feeding means with the printed matter on the web in predetermined registered relation, a pair of rotary carriers cooperating to engage and guide the printed web without exerting a feeding pressure thereon, means for guiding the feeding webfrom the web feeding means to the rotary carriers, a pair of coacting cutting knives, one knife operably supported by each carrier, the carriers and cutting knives being rotated constantly at a speed slightly greater than the speed of the web feeding means and in register with the printed matter on the feeding web to cut the web into sheets of predetermined length, guides leading from the carriers and constructed and arranged to guide the sheets cut from the web away from the cutting knives, and means for propelling the sheets along the guides away from the knives at a speed slightly greater than the speed of the feeding web.

3. In a web cutting mechanism for a printing machine, means for feeding the printed web at a given speed, an adjustable compensating member in advance of the feeding means to supply the printed web to the feeding means with the printed matter on the web in predetermined registered relation, a pair of rotary carriers cooperating to engage and guide the web without exerting feeding pressure thereon, means for guiding the feeding web from the feeding means to the rotary carriers, a pair of coacting cutting knives, one knife operably supported on each carrier, the carriers and cutting knives being constantly rotated at a speed slightly greater than the speed of the web feeding means and in register with the printed matter on the feeding web to cut the web into sheets of predetermined 10 length having predetermined printed matter thereon, web guides leading from the carriers and having laterally enlarged entrance terminals positioned immediately adjacent the carriers and constructed and arranged to guide the sheets cut from the web away from the knives, and means for propelling the sheets away from the knives along the guides at a speed slightly greater than the speed of the feeding web. 

